Corporate volunteering

What’s your company’s mission? On the surface, it might be to sell software or offer financial planning services, but what brought you into the business in the first place? There’s a deeper mission that drove you. Was it to help people in your local community, or to find a solution to a pressing environmental problem? Connect with that deeper mission by creating corporate volunteer programs within your company. What nonprofit or charitable cause can your team give back to? When you align something external, like creating corporate volunteer opportunities, with your internal mission, you strengthen your business’ foundation and let more people in your community know about the good work your brand is doing.

You don’t want the people who work for you coming in and out of the office punching a time card – you want to create an internal raving fan culture. One major way you can enhance your company culture is by developing employee volunteer programs. This allows employees to really see what your company is all about. You can’t say your brand is out to change the world or better the community without putting these principles into action. Whether you organize annual corporate volunteer days, match all employee donations for a worthy cause or provide specific days for employees to volunteer with the philanthropy of their choosing, you can create programs that motivate your team to give their all to the community and your brand.

Corporate community involvement doesn’t have to be an over-the-top production. Ask yourself – what is your company reasonably able to accomplish this month, this quarter or this year when it comes to giving back? If you’re a small business or an entrepreneur just starting out, there are still ways you can find a worthy cause. Perhaps you sponsor a local youth sports team for the year and have your employees help run training camps for the kids, or organize a park or beach cleanup with your team. If you’re a larger business or have greater resources to deploy, be it time, product donations or money, do it! Get creative. Host competitions in the office and give a prize to the employee who raises the most money for your cause. Throw a gala and donate the money to charity. Encourage employees to take time off to volunteer for incredible charities. If you’re unsure of where to start, reach out to a nonprofit that interests you and ask how you can best support their efforts.

Tony Robbins and his team have been working with charities for decades. Whether it’s providing meals to those who need it most with Feeding America, helping to eliminate child tracking with Operation Underground Railroad or empowering future leaders with The Tony Robbins Foundation, Tony and his team have committed to giving back. For instance, Tony is now part of Feeding America’s 100 Million Meals Challenge. Now in its fourth year, the challenge has provided more than 315 million meals to people in need through Feeding America’s expansive food bank network. The campaign has resolved to deliver more than 1 billion meals by 2025.

Charities like Feeding America make it easy for you and your business to give back. With a strong structure in place and a widespread network that makes volunteering easy for your employees, why wouldn’t you want to get involved with a similar program?